Report grades parish websites

Tuesday

Jan 29, 2013 at 8:35 PM

A nonprofit government transparency organization gave local government websites mixed reviews in its most recent report.

Xerxes WilsonStaff Writer

A nonprofit government-transparency group gave local government websites mixed reviews in its most recent report.Lafourche Parish’s site received an A+ ranking. Terrebonne Parish’s site initially received an A- because the judges claimed the site had no personalized contact for the Parish Council clerk.But there is a contact listed, and the ranking was upgraded after the judging error was reported, parish spokesman Doug Bourg said.The Lafourche Parish School Board’s site received a B-. The Terrebonne’s School Board site received a D-, though many of the items judged to be missing are actually quickly accessible. The websites are judged by Sunshine Review, a nonprofit that encourages government transparency. It grades websites considering what information they have and do not have posted. Specifically, the organization examines government websites for information on budgets, public meetings, taxing information, elected and administrative officials, permits, audits, contracts, lobbying, public records and local taxes.Its website lists testimony of government organizations that have updated their sites and includes that information in judging. “When we received a low ranking two years ago, (former public information officer) Brennan Matherne made it his mission to find out what has been on there to make it transparent as possible,” said Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph. The websites for Lafourche and Terrebonne, www.lafourchegov.org and www.tpcg.org, were the only parish websites in Louisiana to have all of the criteria used in the report card, though some of the information on Lafourche’s site needs to be updated, the group says.Randolph said the parish is working on improvements, including a smartphone app and increased social-media use. “We try to keep our information as up to date, with as much information as possible,” Bourg said of Terrebonne’s website, which includes video of each council meeting and detailed maps of the parish. The Terrebonne Parish School Board’s website, www.tpsd.org, was judged to not have a current budget, contracts, audits and means to ask for public records and background checks online.But a glance shows it actually has at least a few of the items.“If we are guilty of anything, (the website) contains the information, but it doesn’t jump out at you,” Superintendent Philip Martin said.The site has budget and taxing information readily available, as well as information about public-records requests. Martin noted the district is in the process of launching a site that is more “user friendly.” The Lafourche Parish School Board’s website, http://lafourche.k12.la.us, received a B- for missing information about contracts, public-records requests and contracts.